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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27886654">Regarding Elena</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaiTheWriter/pseuds/SaiTheWriter'>SaiTheWriter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Birthday Fluff, Gen, Turks (Compilation of FFVII)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:55:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,012</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27886654</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaiTheWriter/pseuds/SaiTheWriter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A birthday gift fic.</p><p>Elena always puts work before herself. And when it comes to herself, there's no time for any of that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Regarding Elena</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy birthday to my favorite German sweet mochi bean Elena @rrryin I want you all to check out her lovely artwork on her tweeter.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>~*~Rude~*~</p><p> </p><p>“Elena?”</p><p> </p><p>Her gaze snapped up from the page, flush creeping up at being caught out staring at the ad alongside what was turning out to be a useless data dive for information. It wasn’t abnormal for one of them to end up zoning out while focusing on an article or sponging up information, which was likely what Rude had expected when prodding her. No, she’d spaced out staring at a damned ad.</p><p> </p><p>For earrings of all things.</p><p> </p><p>They were a cute kind; silver delicate chain dangling a sapphire half moon. The kind one would wear with short hair or an updo. To a formal party or orchestra. And when would she ever have time for that? Sure, they had undercover possibilities, but how would that feel? Buying something that caught her eye merely as garnish for a job night instead of something she could wear out.</p><p> </p><p>Clearing her throat, she tilted her head up towards him, sliding away from the console as smoothly as allowed. There wasn’t really time to move screens, and besides that, a hasty action now would more than solidify her guilt. The best thing was to merely pretend she’d gotten absorbed in the actual article on screen and not the sidebar that slid the three same ads over and over along the edge. “Mn? Sorry, I was getting lost, you know how it is.” A single shoulder came up to shrug, effecting a sheepish look. “Trying to make the words not run together. What did you need?”</p><p> </p><p>Behind those shades of his, the man was fairly impassive, merely dipping his head in a nod after a few moments of stressful (to her) silence. “Lunch in half, Reno’s on his way in, said he’d pick up from that Wutaian place across the city Tseng likes.”</p><p> </p><p>Across- “Isn’t that an hour away?” Between traffic and just plain odd streets.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s driving himself.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Nodding with a wince in obvious understanding, the blond reached up to brush back hair and tilted towards the door. “I’ll let the chief know, I need to brief him on a couple of things I could glean from their website anyways.” He nodded, watching her move away, completely confident in her success, unknowing of the gaze that crept back to her console as she passed into Tseng’s office.<br/>
<br/>
~*~Reno~*~</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The trail was cold, and damned if she wasn’t kicking herself. It had to have been her last minute insistence on backup, that surely was the reason she and Reno were slowing to a halt in a busy street of boutiques and eateries-</p><p> </p><p>“Oi, stoppit.” Reno muttered, irritated hand reaching up to scrub through his hair. He was the fastest of them all, certainly the act of losing a chase roiled him. Immediately her own self-flagellation quieted. “You did good calling me in, huh? Bastard wasn’t even supposed to be up topside, and Tseng gave ya a strict no contact rule without one of us. Just kinda shit we were all spread so far out, yo.”</p><p> </p><p>“I suppose.” Elena sighed, tilting to lean against the newspaper bin beside him. It left her out of the ebb and flow of pedestrians, but also with a lovely vantage of the boutiques on this side of the road. Square in front of them, her eyes were attracted to the artful display of formal dress shoes on a tiered round, dragging over each pair while her breath settled into something more even. From stiletto point to chunk heel, each one was a lovely shade, and the woman adjusting them as more came from her loaded box seemed to be a deft hand at making them fit together without looking cluttered.</p><p> </p><p>“Thinking about a new pair, yo?” Came the amused lilt to her side. Elena blinked back into the here and now, tilting up towards the redhead and his smirk.</p><p> </p><p>“And how would I run in those? We wouldn’t have caught him at all, much less sight of him.” Elena huffed to herself, gaze flickering back to the spotlight over the strappy sandals and heels in the store window. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, ya don’t always gotta think about on the clock, Lanie.” Reno snickered, reaching out to ruffle her hair. She swatted his hand away and pushed off, wagging a finger. “Obviously I do, because someone else forgot we have a rendezvous tonight to discuss the next step.” She answered primly, feeling smug herself when he grimaced and straightened. </p><p> </p><p>She turned on her heel and made her way back towards the car feeling a bit more steady with her comeback, even as the other Turk offered the display one last side eye on his way after her, hands shoved into his pockets.</p><p> </p><p>*~*Tseng~*~</p><p> </p><p>“Elena? My office, please.” The intercom released Tseng’s quiet tones into the main room of their department, causing all three to look up from their consoles. The man had been secluded into his office since morning, leaving her to wonder about the premise. The man usually only settled in early when they were to mobilize, but seeing as he hadn’t come out by lunch time to brief them, she had her misgivings. At least, given the amount of dark bags Rude had rustled in around that time, she knew he was eating.</p><p> </p><p>Now it was mid-afternoon, and the call hit right as she was debating on knocking on the door with what she could muster for a report on their elusive black market money launderer. The last few weeks had been terrible, leaving her to conclude that they had a mole in their corporation, much as she hated to admit. Rereading her conclusion over and over after lunch didn’t quite settle her stomach, but at least she knew there were no mistakes in her grammar.</p><p> </p><p>Giving a look at the two across from her, the blond slid from her seat and smoothed her uniform, turning towards the imposing door with far more worry than she normally did. It was just nerves, it had to be. She wasn’t sick, she’d gotten up the same way she’d always done; puttered through her small kitchen, done her morning chores, and been to work on time. </p><p> </p><p>So why was she nervous?</p><p> </p><p>Tapping a gentle knock on his door, she let herself in, announcing with a quiet murmur as she let it shut and moving to stand before his desk. The man himself tilted his head up as she slowed to a halt, offering her a nod in greeting. “Elena, I’m sure you know why I called you in here.” </p><p> </p><p>Her body froze. What? Clearing her throat to help buy some time, the blond ran through several possibilities, finally alighting on the one that plagued her all day. Was this because she hadn’t filed her report yet? Because this mission was failing? Was he calling her in to get canned?? Well, sir.” She started out, licking her lips. “I’d meant to put it in, on my word.”</p><p> </p><p>Tseng nodded, watching her carefully. “I had thought so, but that’s not why you’re here. You could have put it in any time at all, and that would have been fine. But communication is key, Elena. Why didn’t you tell us beforehand?”</p><p> </p><p>Oh gods. It -was- about her mole hypothesis. Worry crept into her features, eyes growing wide. “Well, you see sir, I wasn’t sure at first. I didn’t want to talk to you about it, and end up...well. </p><p> </p><p>“Thinking we wouldn’t care?” Tseng offered, tone oddly quiet and somewhat, gentle?</p><p> </p><p>“I suppose you could say that?” It wasn’t what she would call it. “More like you’d be angry I’d bring it up in the first place.” </p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t the first time she’d seen the man shocked, but by far, it was probably the first time she’d ever shocked him. “Elena, how could you possibly think we’d behave in such a manner? You’re still a rookie, yes, but you’re a strong part of this team. To think. Mn.” He hummed to himself, taking a breath and leaning towards the intercom. “Rude, Reno. Here please.”</p><p> </p><p>Seconds passed before the door shoved open, meaning Reno had likely been leaning on it to garner a listen, and the Turk looked completely unapologetic for that. “Why the hell would we be mad, Lanie? Shit, I don’t care if you wanna take the day off, but you coulda let us know. Yer lucky Tseng happened to be doing annual review paperwork last week and found out.”</p><p> </p><p>Review paperwork? Her brow knitted, trying to track the conversation and where it’d thrown her for a loop. Were they talking about the same thing? It had to be. The only thing she’d done in the last near month was eat,sleep, and breathe this case. </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to be afraid to take time off and enjoy your birthday, Elena.” The reassuring voice that was Rude brought her back from her thoughts, understanding blooming as he continued. “Contrary to our overtime schedule, we’re allowed time off.”</p><p> </p><p>Her birthday.</p><p> </p><p>She’d forgotten her birthday.</p><p> </p><p>Watching her dawning realization seemed to be causing one of Tseng’s own, his lips tilting into a knowing smile. “You weren’t talking about this, were you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, no sir. To be perfectly honest, I forgot while dealing with Daven’s case.” She admitted, once her nerves of impending doom had fallen away. “I thought we were talking about my report for today.” She gave a dismissive wave, now that her jitters were gone. “Which is far more important, don’t you think? I could bring you the paperwork for my hypoth-”</p><p> </p><p>“It isn’t.” Tseng cut in, his tone still warm enough to know he wasn’t angry.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, but sir.” Elena tried again, her voice falling away.</p><p> </p><p>“I have suspected what you would likely find for near a month, and the feed from the two departments we needed to look into should be collating while we speak. Thanks to your hunch the other week after the chase, I put in bugs as an extra precaution.” It was an unfortunate circumstance of their large company, that sometimes they had rogues. Reno had mentioned a time or two of his own experiences over lunch one day what felt like ages ago, and that had been jarred on their drive back to HQ after the chase that ended in a busy street.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously, you need to take breaks more, eh?” Reno had taken to nearly wedging his ass on top of the desk, no doubt arms crossed while he nudged one of those big blacke bags he’d brought in at lunch back into sight from under a chair. Rude seemed to take a hint, because he was moving towards it, leaning to smoothly fish a small, neatly wrapped purple parcel from the contents. Without hesitating, he pressed it into her hands, fingers warm behind his gloves as they brushed along her skin.</p><p> </p><p>She remained quiet as her focus settled on opening the wrapping without tearing it, easing it sideways and laying it on the side table she stood near. Slowly, her fingers slid open the elegant blue box, the hasp of it sliding easily open, not like the snap up of department store boxes. No, just a glance at the embossed gold lettering on the top told her where it was from. Her eyes widened, tilting up towards Rude in surprise, then back towards the delicate metal nestled into the plush of the packing.</p><p> </p><p>It was the same pair she’d been staring at the other day, right down to the color of the metal. Wide eyed, her gaze slid up, peering towards those shades and the hidden depths beyond, unable to quite word her question.</p><p> </p><p>“You were staring.” The other Turk rumbled, nodding towards the box. “I don’t think you realized for how long, and they had a local shop. Plus.” This time a slight blush came over dark skin. “I looked at them all to make sure they were the right ones.”</p><p> </p><p>“Rude.” Elena breathed, cheeks pink and nearly ready to laugh out her jitters. “Thank you, you didn’t have to go through that much trouble.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s your birthday, it wasn’t trouble.” The man immediately insisted, his words following a scoff by the redhead to the side of them, leaning on the desk Tseng sat behind. </p><p> </p><p>“Stop thinkin’ that shit. Yer ours, and our friend. So you better take your presents and when mine comes remember that I like snacks.” Reno remarked, sharp teeth pulled into a grin.</p><p> </p><p>At that point, Rude stepped back, his own smile still warm, tilting to lean along the wall while Reno shoved off the desk and brought his swagger over, along with a large metallic green bag overflowing with tissue. “I ain’t great at finding stuff but uh, once Rude made his move, we sorta all combined ideas. So. Here.”</p><p> </p><p>He thrust it at her almost awkwardly, gaze away, like he was...uncertain? Worried about her approval? It made her all the more curious (and touched), and when she picked up from his hold, found that it had a weight to it. It couldn’t have been the tissue inside, though there was quite a bit there. It almost completely hid the long box just peeking over the lip of the bag itself, which was probably the reason in the first place. Almost defensively he shrugged at her investigation. “I ain’t shit at wrapping, so you got a bag. Biggest one I could find.”</p><p> </p><p>She found herself chuckling, an act that seemed to lower his shoulders in response. Slowly she pulled away the tissue paper enough to tug the box from the bag, noting the sleek black covering and another familiar shop name along the front. This time, her gaze narrowed on him, his grin widening in return. “You got a tell, rookie.” He teased, jerking his chin towards it. “Like I said, you gotta have some fun outside o’ work, and maybe those’ll give you a reason to go.”</p><p> </p><p>The blonde needed no more urging, setting down the bag and prying up the cover for her next present. Inside were a modest pair of strappy sling-back heels, the delicate ropes of black sure to be breathable and the heel just high enough to leave her taller, without sacrificing too much comfort. No doubt he had help with an attendant to find something she wouldn’t teeter in.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re wonderful.” She murmured, a nail tracing over the loop of one of the straps, toying with the dainty silver buckle along the side. “Both of them, thank you.” Again she smiled, quite pleased with her gifts.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t think I’d call you in here without giving you one as well, do you?” Tseng cut in from his seat, leaning back at his desk to tug out a longer drawer. “When they each mentioned your moments of distraction, it gave me an idea for my own.” His was square in shape as it slid into view over the table, leaving her to place her boxes to the side to marvel at the name along the top. This one...this she didn’t recall ever looking at. With Tseng, she tried to be as businesslike around him as possible, given some of her earlier mistakes. There was no telling what could be beyond it, and there had been no wrapping paper either. The pretty gilded box was enough.</p><p> </p><p>Pulling the top up, she was met with white tissue, something she needed to pull up and away before openly gasping in surprise. Inside was a dress, all in deep blues with a soft velvet bodice laying on what promised to be a tulle skirt with some sort of underskirt beneath. It was breathtaking. Wide eyes shifted up towards the man who nodded, and she took it as a cue to pull it gently from the box. As it rose, she could tell the neckline meant for it to be off the shoulder, the sweep of the skirt promising something mid-calf. The underskirt was easily visible, but honestly, that stole the show. Stars and moons elegantly scrawled along it in dull silver, shining just enough to play with the lights in the room.</p><p> </p><p>“While Reno often drags Rude to bawdy bars for a few beers, Rude prefers to spend some nights at jazz clubs, and I myself am often fond of plays. We all like to unwind after hours. This is a hard job, and I don’t want you to buckle under the stress. There’s one last gift, but that is at the end of the week. The Vice President sends his regards, and offered a table at one of his favorite restaurants. That outfit would certainly fit right in.”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help the wetness that threatened, briefly taking a moment to stare hard down at the hem and will it away. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant to slight you all by not telling you. I’d honestly forgotten, and well. It’s only been half a year. I wanted to prove myself.”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean, yer still the rookie, Lanie.” Reno offered, reaching back over to the side for the second black bag. </p><p> </p><p>“But you’re a Turk. You’re ours already.” Rude continued, tugging her eyes over towards him with that murmur. </p><p> </p><p>So take the rest of the day off. After cake, of course.” Tseng finished behind her, sending her right back towards the front and the sight of a round settled on the desk. Inside the plastic covering, a white cheesecake settled, thin swirls of red fruit drizzle elegantly presenting a wording out. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Happy Birthday Elena. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Went for savory, after the cupcake fiasco for Rude last year, we go for less frosting. Too much sugar.” Reno grimaced playfully, popping off the top and handing a knife to Rude.</p><p> </p><p>“And after Reno’s first birthday as a Turk, we had to retire candles as well.” Tseng called, tugging a giggle from her as he sputtered out indignant curses. Cake slices were handed out as soft conversation began, her plastic fork sliding down into the soft richness of the cake and finding that she could not want for a better day.</p><p> </p><p>A happy birthday indeed.</p>
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